Samantha Pious
Deconstruction
Judith vaulted past the fence,
brought us acorns from the woods;
Charlotte stitched up little tents,
which Emily and Phillis stood
on twigs we gathered from the pine
beside the blacktop. Mary, who
is good at drawing, she designed
their faces and their clothing too.
The map was Juana's and Christine's.
Lucy laid a row of pebbles.
Karen gave each one a bead
of gold or silver from her necklace
so that they'd have goods to spare.
On Ezra's face was such a grin—
even though the others swear
they didn't see us, he ran in
and trampled it beyond repair.
The teacher always lets him win—
it isn't fair. It isn't fair.
He knows he can't make anything
as good, and so he breaks apart
our cities, watches towers fall,
tears down tents, and calls it art.
Someday he won't exist at all.
But Judith's acorns will grow tall.
Dante
Even now, the gates are closed to you,
though angels follow where your light is bent:
"Soul of a poet, whose mercurial pen
poured out a mirror of the universe,
the High and Low have looked upon your works
and found them functional. By joint decree,
they've granted you a small scriptorium
with all the ink and parchment you will need
to carve new depths for chasms overrun
with health insurance agents, politicians,
developers of AI algorithms—
to give each sin precisely what it's due."
The room was still. Stars whispered in the night.
Below the vaulted ceiling, you sat down to write.
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| AUTHOR BIO |
| Samantha Pious is a poet, editor, translator, and researcher. She has translated poems from the French of Renée Vivien and from the Portuguese of Judith Teixeira, which are available, respectively, as A Crown of Violets (Headmistress Press, 2015, revised 2017) and Cactus Flowers (2025). Her translations from the French of Natalie Clifford Barney are forthcoming; a volume of her original poems, Sappho Is Dead, appeared in 2024. She holds a PhD in comparative literature from the University of Pennsylvania. |
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| POETRY CONTRIBUTORS |
 Melanie Figg
Taryn Frazier
Carol Lynn Stevenson Grellas
Julia Griffin
Katie Hartsock
Ruth Holzer
Jenny Isaacs
Jen Karetnick
Miriam N. Kotzin
Susan McLean
Ann E. Michael
Samantha Pious
Leslie Schultz
Janice D. Soderling
Laura Sweeney
Marly Youmans
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| Avila Gray is a self-taught illustrator, specialising in fine ink pen and watercolour paintings. Avi is based in Sydney, Australia, where she operates a stationery business called Erlenmeyer, selling art prints, greeting cards, playing cards, stickers and colouring books. Erlenmeyer is also the name of Avi's storytelling animal kingdom; a futuristic utopia where sentient creatures live in harmony across 12 cities on Earth. All of the compositions from her illustrative range depict snapshots from this story; her body of work shows the animal characters that colour the Erlenmeyer world, as well as their culture, values and how they live. Avi has been selling her illustrations and products since 2014 and became a resident at Australia’s iconic Rocks Market for many years, developing a loyal customer base and social media following. After several years of trade shows in Sydney and London, her designs can now be found in more than 80 shops worldwide. Many of Avi's designs are licensed by the international greeting card company, Moonpig.
For additional information, please visit www.erlenmeyer.com.au.
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